This subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to imaging systems, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for determining an orientation of a subject using an imaging system.
Medical imaging systems are used in different applications to image different regions or areas (e.g., different organs) of a patient. For example, a computed tomography (CT) imaging system may be utilized to generate images of a patient's bones or organs. In operation, an operator manually enters information that is utilized to perform a scan of the patient. Such information may include, for example, the patient's name, the patient's sex, and various scan protocols that define the radiation dosage to be delivered to the patient during the scan.
Additionally, the operator manually enters the patient's orientation. The patient's orientation indicates the position of the patient on the imaging table, for example, whether the patient is being positioned face up, face down, etc. during the imaging procedure. The patient's orientation, as entered by the operator, is then printed on at least one of the reconstructed images to enable a physician to perform a medical diagnosis. The orientation information printed on the image enables a physician to generally identify the locations of various organs and other items of interest such as, or example, a lesion. The orientation information may include a left indicator and a right indicator printed on the image. The left and right indicators generally refer to the left and right side of the images, respectively. Accordingly, when the patient is being imaged in the supine position, the left lung is expected to appear on the left side of the image and the right lung is expected to appear on the right side of the image.
However, the operator may inadvertently enter an incorrect patient orientation into the imaging system. For example, the operator may enter information that indicates that the patient is being imaged head first in the prone position when in fact the patient is in the supine position. In this case, the left lung would appear on the right side of the image and the right lung would appear on the left side of the image. While it should be appreciated that physicians have the medical skills to determine that the generated image reflects a different orientation than the orientation information printed on the image, the incorrect orientation information may still result in the physician spending additional time to perform the diagnosis. More specifically, the physician may have to first determine the correct orientation of the image and then perform the diagnosis. As a result, incorrect orientation information entered by the operator may result in an increased time to perform the diagnosis and in some cases may cause the physician to render an incorrect diagnosis.